“However, the most effective way to cut problems would be for the Government to follow the example of Scotland and introduce MUP across the whole country.”

But Andy Simpson, director of Newcastle stag and hen party company Hangover Weekends, said: “It’s insulting people’s intelligence to suggest that the amount somebody drinks has to be controlled by hitting their pocket.”

BIGG NIGHT OUT

EACH weekend, thousands of revellers flock to Newcastle’s party district, the Bigg Market.

It has more than 20 bars, many with late licences, plus pubs and restaurants and is known for its heavy drinking culture. But the area has a darker side too, with alcohol-fuelled crimes.

It topped the league in the city’s latest violent and sexual crime statistics, published in December, with 105 offences in the first half of 2017 – or four a week.

In 2013, PM David Cameron performed a U-turn on similar plans after critics argued introducing a booze fine would punish responsible drinkers.

Since then, the police and NHS have complained resources are being stretched by the binge-drinking culture.

Last week doctors warned 1,000 people could die over the next five years if the minimum price for alcohol is delayed.

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Newcastle city council’s report on the 50p booze tax said: “Where premises are found to be selling alcohol below this price and there are problems, the committee may decide to impose a condition in relation to pricing of alcohol.”